Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair shaving device, more specifically to a fingertip mountable and manually operated shaving device. The invention aims to provide a flexible and disposable hair shaving device, suitable for single use that allows safe and close shaving particularly from difficult to access body parts by relying on the sense of feel rather than visibility of the surface to be shaved.
Background Art
Different finger mountable shaving devices used to shave hair from difficult to access body parts such as nostrils or ears are known in prior art. These devices range from manually operated to battery powered devices and may or may not be disposable. Many of these devices are bulky and are not easy to carry or use inside the nose, ears or on wrinkled skin surface.
Several such shaving devices included in the prior art are known to the inventor, but they distinctly differ from the present invention described in this patent application. The present invention offers a solution the above mentioned problems associated with prior art.
Below are given some prior art references. U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,148, issued on Apr. 22, 2003, titled, “SHAVING METHOD AND APPARATUS”, describes a shaving device wherein the razor is placed between the user's fingers and held by the combined grip. This device is not suitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,356, issued on Feb. 29, 2000, titled, “FINGER PAD SENSOR RAZOR”, discloses a razor mounted on full or partial rings which slide all the way over the fingers to their proximal ends to be used as sensory feed-back means of hair stubble condition. This device too is not suitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,877, issued on Feb. 1, 2000, titled, “VERSATILE FINGER RETAINED RAZOR”, provides a finger engaged razor that is configured for selectively shaving the head or face. This device is also unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,403, issued on Jan. 14, 2003, titled, “HAIR SHAVING DEVICE WITH U-SHAPED RAZOR BLADE STRIP”, provides a manually manipulatable non electric hair trimming device, which is neither flexible nor disposable.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20110113631, published on May 19, 2011, titled, “APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HOLDING RAZORS”, provides a razor holder for use with a plurality of razor elements and includes a hand wearable article configured to fit over a hand of a user. This shaving device is also not suitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,680, issued on Oct. 25, 1994, titled, “FINGER RAZOR”, provides a finger razor that completely fits snugly onto the middle or index finger. This is a rigid device that is unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
PCT Patent Application No. WO/2012/107713, published on Aug. 16, 2012, titled, “A RAZOR”, provides a razor which is placed on at least one finger of the user's hand and has at least one blade. This device also involves use of a rigid surface that is unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
UK Patent No. GB2465422, issued on May 26, 2010, titled, “FINGER-MOUNTED DISPOSABLE SHAVING RAZOR”, provides a razor mounted on a band to be placed on a finger. This device also involves use of a rigid surface that is unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
Chinese Patent Application No. CN 101758507, published on Jun. 30, 2010, titled, “FINGER-HELD DOUBLE-SIDED RAZOR”, relates to a finger-held double-sided razor, which is again a rigid device unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
Chinese Patent Application No. CN 202180480, published on Apr. 4, 2012, titled, “RAZOR”, relates to a finger worn razor, which is again a rigid device unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2009039186, published on Feb. 26, 2009, titled, “DOUBLE-EDGED FINGER RAZOR WITH BAND”, describes a double-edged finger razor which is again a rigid device unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2002018160, published on Jan. 22, 2002, titled, “FINGER INSERTION TYPE SAFETY RAZOR”, provides a razor edge holding part that can be worn over a finger. However this is a rigid device unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
Japanese Patent No. 6154436, issued on Jun. 3, 1994, titled, “HAND/FINGER TOUCHING TYPE SAFETY RAZOR”, provides hand/finger touching type safety razor that can be worn on a single or multiple fingers. However this is also a rigid device unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D410112, issued on May 18, 1999, titled, “FINGER-MOUNTED RAZOR”, provides an ornamental design for a finger-mounted razor which is unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D386819, issued on Nov. 25, 1997, titled, “FLEXIBLE FINGER-MOUNTED RAZOR”, provides an ornamental design for a finger-mounted razor which is unsuitable for shaving intricate body surfaces such as those inside the nose or ears.
In currently pending pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/723,060, filed on Dec. 20, 2012, the inventor disclosed a fingertip shaving device that overcame the limitations of prior art. The present invention disclosed in this application provides improvement in shaving performance and enhances ease of manufacturing the fingertip shaving device.
None of the previously described prior art references provide a shaving device that is capable of being mounted on a fingertip and is flexible, disposable, small, light in weight, easy to operate, ease to manufacture commercially, non-electric, facilitates shaving by feel, and also provides a safe and close saving finish while accessing intricate body parts. The present invention satisfies the present and other needs.